Projects per year
Abstract
Shell beads were made in Australia from about 35,000 years ago. They include perforated marine gastropods and intentionally fractured segments of scaphopods. While some of the oldest Australian examples are in archaeological sites that were close to the Pleistocene coastline, in the southern Kimberley of northern Australia, beads are found primarily in early Holocene contexts and in sites that were more than 500 km from the coast at the time of their deposition. This suggests that they were either traded or exchanged “down the line.” Historic photos and ethnographic evidence reveal that in the recent past Indigenous men, women and children in coastal locations wore such beads, whereas in central Australia they took on powerful properties and were used in ceremonial contexts with gender and age restricted use. One of the characteristics of marine shell ornaments in northern Australia is their bright, white or lustrous appearance that seems to have been intrinsic to their selection as body adornments. Distributions of shell beads across time and space in Australia can be interpreted as being related to changes in access to resources and social value which has implications
for the interpretation of archaeological beads elsewhere.
for the interpretation of archaeological beads elsewhere.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Not just for show |
Subtitle of host publication | The archaeology of beads, beadwork and personal ornaments |
Editors | Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Clive Bonsall, Alice M. Choyke |
Place of Publication | Oxford |
Publisher | Oxbow Books |
Chapter | 2 |
Pages | 7-18 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Edition | 1 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781785706936 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781785706929 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Traditions and change in scaphopod shell beads in Northern Australia from the Pleistocene to the recent past'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Lifeways of First Australians
O'Connor, S. (Investigator 01) & Balme, J. (Investigator 02)
ARC Australian Research Council
1/01/10 → 31/12/13
Project: Research
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Early Modern Humans in Island Southeast Asia and Sahul: Adaptive and Creative Societies with Simple Lithic Industries
Balme, J. & O'Connor, S., 2014, Southern Asia, Australia and the Search for Human Origins. Dennell, R. & Porr, M. (eds.). USA: Cambridge University Press, p. 164-174Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference paper › Chapter › peer-review
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The Role of Information Exchange in the Colonization of Sahul
Veth, P., Stern, N., McDonald, J., Balme, J. & Davidson, I., 2011, Information and Its Role in Hunter-Gatherer Bands. Whallon, R., Lovis, W. & Hitchcock, R. (eds.). United States: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, Vol. 5. p. 203-220 (Ideas, Debates, and Perspectives).Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference paper › Chapter › peer-review
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Symbolic behaviour and the peopling of the southern arc route to Australia
Balme, J., Davidson, I., McDonald, J., Stern, N. & Veth, P., 2009, In: Quaternary International. 202, 1-2, p. 59-68Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
104 Citations (Scopus)